Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) is a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, enacted by Congress on Dec. 20, 2019. The law allows certain Liberians — and eligible family members — to apply to adjust to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status before Dec. 20, 2020.

The White House announced on March 30, 2020, that the termination date for Deferred Enforced Departure, or DED, for Liberia is postponed. The new termination date is Jan. 10, 2021. USCIS published guidance on Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness, or LRIF, processing in its Policy Manual and opened a period for public comment on the new chapter through May 7, 2020.

In April 2020, 69 organizations, led by CLINIC, sent a letter to DHS and USCIS urging the extension of the re-registration period and work permits for TPS holders from Yemen and Somalia in light of COVID-19

This report documents the clear and urgent need for Venezuela to be designated for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. The report contains an overview of the law, current country conditions, and why TPS is both a necessary humanitarian response to the crisis in Venezuela and in the U.S. national interest.

CLINIC and partners submitted a letter to DHS and USCIS on Jan. 28, 2020, regarding recommendations on the implementation of Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness, or LRIF. The recommendations seek to address potential losses of work authorization and protection from deportation that most principal LRIF applicants imminently face.

The current 18-month grant of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for approximately 1,250 Yemeni TPS holders will expire on March 3, 2020, unless extended by the secretary of Homeland Security. By statute, the DHS secretary must decide whether to extend and/or redesignate or terminate TPS for Yemen by Jan. 3, 2020.

On Dec. 13, 2019, CLINIC delivered a letter signed by more than 120 faith leaders and faith-based organizations from across traditions urging the administration to grant an 18-month extension and to redesignate TPS for Yemen, warranted under the law due to ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian emergency in the country.

On Dec. 13, 2019, CLINIC delivered a letter signed by 140 faith leaders and faith-based organizations from across traditions urging the administration to grant an 18-month extension and to redesignate TPS for Somalia, warranted under the law due to ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian emergency in the country.

On November 4, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) automatically extending TPS and work authorization through January 4, 2021 for current TPS holders from the following six countries: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for nationals of Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal, and Honduras and the termination of DED for Liberia. In the wake of these termination decisions, several different cases have been filed in U.S district courts.

As required by court order, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, has again extended protections for Temporary Protected Status holders from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sudan and Haiti, despite previous DHS decisions to terminate TPS designations for each of these countries. Eligible TPS holders will receive an automatic extension of their status and work authorization.

On Oct. 3, 2018, a preliminary injunction was issued in the Ramos v. Nielsen case, temporarily halting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s, or DHS, termination of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador. On March 12, 2019, the district court in Bhattarai v. Nielsen issued an order halting the termination of TPS for Honduras and Nepal. On April 11, 2019, a court issued another injunction preventing the termination of TPS for Haiti in Saget v. Trump.

The current 18-month grant of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Somalia will expire on March 17, 2020, unless extended by the secretary of Homeland Security. By statute, the DHS Secretary must decide whether to extend and/or redesignate or terminate TPS for Somalia by Jan. 17, 2020.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration joined in requesting DHS extend life-saving protections for Bahamians who seek safety in the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. Specifically, the organizations request DHS designate Temporary Protected Status for the Bahamas and consider using other humanitarian protections, including prosecutorial discretion and humanitarian parole, for hurricane evacuees.

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently held that immigration judges (IJs) have the authority to deny an application for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the exercise of discretion. Matter of D-A-C-, 27 I&N Dec. 575 (BIA 2019).

Syria received an 18-month extension of its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation from Oct. 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021. To maintain TPS through the 18-month period, Syrian TPS holders will need to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which runs from Sept. 23 to Nov. 22, 2019.

On July 11, 2019, CLINIC delivered a letter signed by 200 faith leaders and faith-based organizations from across traditions urging the administration to grant an 18-month extension and to redesignate TPS for Syria, warranted under the law due to ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian emergency in the country.

This report describes the acute need for the administration to extend for 18 months and redesignate Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Syria. Ongoing armed conflict as well as extraordinary and temporary conditions continue to make the safe return of Syrian nationals impossible. While the war in Syria transformed in 2018 and 2019, with the Assad regime regaining ground from the Islamic State and rebels in much of the country, profound civilian suffering, destruction and loss of life persists.

CLINIC’s policy brief examines extreme processing delays at USCIS under the Trump administration and the particular consequences to TPS holders and their families. The brief questions USCIS’ methods in dealing with the processing delays for TPS holders, pointing out that USCIS elected an unusual, inefficient, and error-prone process. The brief includes recommendations for oversight and holding the administration accountable.

CLINIC submitted a letter to USCIS Director Cissna on May 16, 2019 with recommendations to address and correct its erroneous rejection of Forms I-765 filed by Liberian DED holders. In summary, CLINIC recommends that USCIS should: automatically extend all Liberian DED holders EADs for the 12-month DED period; conduct outreach to ensure the Liberian community has accurate information; and investigate the root causes of the error, make its findings available to the public, and take corrective action to avoid replication.

USCIS mistakenly rejected approximately 155 Liberian DED employment authorization applications (Form I-765) filed prior to May 8, 2019. A computer coding error at the Chicago Lockbox caused the cases to be rejected during initial screening. As a result, USCIS issued rejection notices erroneously stating that the “country...is not currently eligible for DED.”

On Jan. 23, 2018, Church World Service and CLINIC delivered a letter to the administration signed by nearly 300 faith leaders and organizations from across traditions in support of Syrian TPS holders. The letter calls on Secretary Nielsen to extend TPS for Syria for 18 months and to redesignate in order to protect more Syrians in need.

On March 12, 2019 a court order was issued in the Bhattarai v. Nielsen case temporarily halting the Department of Homeland Security’s, or DHS, termination of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Nepal and Honduras. The Bhattarai case is linked to the Ramos v. Nielsen case, which covers Sudan, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti, and is currently under preliminary injunction.

CLINIC sent a letter to USCIS Director Cissna on April 26, 2019, regarding recommendations to mitigate harm TPS holders are experiencing due to systemic issues at USCIS as well as steps USCIS should take to ensure that TPS holders under the Ramos v. Nielsen preliminary injunction are able to maintain their TPS benefits.

CLINIC’s policy brief documents the Trump administration’s failure to redesignate Teporary Protected Status for any country, most notably for three war-torn countries—Yemen, Syria and South Sudan—which had received redes­ignations and 18-month extensions in every previous TPS decision. The failure to redesignate raises serious legal questions as to whether the administration employed the proper legal analysis and procedure in these and any of its TPS decisions.

South Sudan received an 18-month extension of its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation from May 3, 2019 to Nov. 2, 2020. To maintain TPS through the 18-month period, South Sudanense TPS holders will need to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which runs from April 5, 2019 through June 4, 2019.

On April 2, 2019, CLINIC sent a letter to DHS Secretary Nielsen and USCIS Director Cissna registering concerns with ongoing Federal Register Notice delays for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, and the resulting consequence to TPS holders and their families. The letter also included recommendations for the forthcoming Federal Register Notice for the 12-month postponement of the termination of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberia.

The White House announced on March 28, 2019 that the termination date for Deferred Enforced Departure, or DED, for Liberia is postponed for an additional year. The new termination date is March 30, 2020.

Two recent developments will extend protections for TPS holders from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal and Honduras, despite decisions by the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, to terminate TPS designations for each of these countries. Certain TPS holders from the countries above will be eligible for an automatic extension of their TPS status and work authorization. In order to benefit, they must maintain their status through timely re-registration.

Every time the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces the extension of the TPS designation for a particular country, TPS recipients from that country must apply to re-register. Check out CLINIC's answers to frequently asked questions on late re-registration for TPS.

This resource provides a brief overview of the numerous court cases challenging the Trump administration’s decisions to terminate TPS and DED for seven countries and their possible outcomes. It also explains that, while some of these cases may provide temporary injunctive relief, there is an urgent need for permanent solutions for TPS and DED holders that only Congress can provide.

More than 215 national, state, and local organizations in the areas of immigration, civil rights, human rights, labor, faith, and education called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to immediately designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is a humanitarian protection provides employment authorization and protection to deportation to immigrants who cannot be safely returned to their country.

DHS published the first steps of its plan for compliance with this injunction in the Federal Register on Oct. 31, 2018. On March 1, 2019, DHS announced the extension of TPS designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador through Jan. 2, 2020, as required by the court order. As long as the preliminary injunction remains in effect, the next Notice will be due approximately 30 days before Jan. 2, 2020.

On Feb. 12, 2019, CLINIC and Church World Service delivered a letter signed by more than 300 faith leaders and faith-based organizations from across traditions urging the administration to grant an 18-month extension and to redesignate TPS for South Sudan, demanded by ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian crises in the country.

The current 18-month grant of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for South Sudan will expire on May 2, 2019 unless extended by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS. By statute, the DHS Secretary must decide whether to extend and/or redesignate or terminate TPS for South Sudan by March 3, 2019.

Use this backgrounder to help educate the public and lawmakers about Temporary Protected Status and the huge consequences to individuals, families and the U.S. as a whole following Temporary Protected Status terminations.

Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, is a humanitarian form of immigration status for foreign nationals, including undocumented immigrants, who cannot safely return to their home country due to extraordinary circumstances. Examples of such circumstances include armed conflict or environmental disaster.

Letter from 115+ national, state, and local organizations demanding that Congress support a DHS IG investigation on decisions related to TPS, including the investigation of various administrative irregularities.

On Oct. 26, 2018, CLINIC sent a letter to USCIS Director Cissna expressing concern and requesting more information and engagement on TPS processing delays which left tens of thousands of TPS holders without valid work authorization documents just days before their work authorization was to expire.

A federal district court in California granted a preliminary injunction in Ramos v. Nielsen temporarily halting the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador. Here is what this means for these recipients.

This memo summarizes irregularities and errors in Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, implementation post-decision observed by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., or CLINIC, during the Trump administration.

This resource contains a collection of TPS holder stories and illustrates the human impact of terminating TPS. Stories provided by UndocuBlack, Alianza Americas, and CLINIC, as members of the TPS Working Group.

Nepal received a 12-month termination of its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation. The last day of TPS for Nepal will be June 24, 2019. More information can be found on the USCIS webpage for TPS for Nepal. To maintain TPS through the 12-month termination period, Nepali TPS holders will need to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which runs from May 22, 2018 to July 23, 2018.

Honduras received an 18-month termination of its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation. The last day of TPS for Honduras will be Jan. 5, 2020. More information can be found on the USCIS webpage for TPS for Honduras. To maintain TPS through the 18-month termination period, Honduran TPS holders will need to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which runs from June 5, 2018 to Aug. 6, 2018.

CLINIC has confirmed that there are some El Salvador TPS applications (Forms I-821 and I-765) that were filed during the most recent re-registration period (Jan. 18, 2018 – March 19, 2018) that have not yet been processed by USCIS. The processing delays are potentially problematic for TPS holders who are relying on the 180-day automatic extension of work authorization granted in the Federal Register Notice that will expire Wednesday, September 5, 2018.

Somalia received an 18-month extension of its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation (from Sept. 18, 2018, to March 17, 2020). Learn more at the USCIS page. To maintain TPS through the 18-month period, Somali TPS holders will need to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which runs from Aug. 27, 2018, through Oct. 26, 2018.

Yemen received an 18-month extension of its Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation (from Sept. 4, 2018 to March 3, 2020). Learn more at the USCIS page. To maintain TPS through the 18-month period, Yemeni TPS holders will need to re-register during the 60-day re-registration period, which runs from Aug. 14, 2018 through Oct. 15, 2018.

TPS status and TPS country designations are temporary.

Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, is a temporary immigration status for nationals of a country that is experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or another extraordinary and temporary condition. A country may be designated for TPS for a specific period of time that can be extended. As the expiration date nears, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, must review whether conditions in that country continue to make it unsafe for its nationals in the U.S. to return.

The current 18-month grant of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Somalia will expire on September 17, 2018 unless extended by the secretary of Homeland Security.[1] By statute, the DHS Secretary must decide whether to extend and/or redesignate or terminate TPS for Somalia by July 19, 2018.[2]

Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, was established by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990.[1] Congress enacted TPS based on the United States’ belief in the principle of nonrefoulment, meaning that the United States will not return people to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.

Over 300 national, state, and local immigrant, religious, labor, and civil rights organizations sent a letter to Kristjen Nielsen, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, asking her to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Guatemala in light of recent environmental disasters. TPS provides the ability to work and protection from deportation for foreign nationals who cannot be safely returned to their home countries due to extraordinary and temporary conditions, such as an environmental disaster.

The current 18-month grant of Temporary Protected Status for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans will expire on March 9, 2018 unless extended by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary.[1] By statute, the DHS Secretary must decide whether conditions warrant extension of the deadline by Jan.

A growing body of evidence calls into question the process followed by the Trump administration in terminating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for countries including Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti.

CLINIC and Church World Service delivered a letter signed by 640 faith leaders and organizations from across traditions calling on the administration to extend and redesignate TPS for Honduras for at least another 18 months.

This report documents the clear and acute need for an extension of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Nepal for at least another 18 months. The law requires the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to extend TPS when after review, the secretary determines that the conditions for the designation continue to be met. Nepal still meets the requirements as it continues to rebuild from the cataclysmic earthquake and aftershocks of April and May of 2015.

CLINIC and Church World Service delivered a letter signed by 275 faith leaders and organizations from across traditions calling on the administration to extend Temporary Protected Status for Nepal for at least another 18 months.

The Federal Register Notice in connection with the administration’s decision to terminate Deferred Enforced Departure, or DED, for Liberia with a twelve-month wind-down period was published on Friday, March 30, 2018.

This resource contains a collection of Nepali TPS holder stories and illustrates the human impact of terminating TPS. If you are a reporter looking for stories about TPS holders, please contact Pat Zapor at pzapor@cliniclegal.org.

This report documents the critical need for the United States to continue to extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haiti until the country sufficiently recovers from a series of deadly natural disasters and is able to safely reabsorb TPS holders. Without TPS, the progress Haiti has made in recovery will be, at the least, seriously compromised.

Over 600 faith leaders and organizations from across traditions delivered a letter to the White House on March 22, 2018 urging the president to extend Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberia for at least another 18 months.

The current 6-month grant of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for nearly 60,000 Hondurans will expire on July 5, 2018 unless extended by the secretary of Homeland Security.[1] By statute, the DHS Secretary must decide whether to extend, terminate or redesignate TPS for Honduras by May 4, 2018.[2]

In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status designations for several countries. Each time TPS is terminated or extended for a designated country, TPS holders from that country are required to re-register if they wish to maintain TPS status. Typically, in addition to re-registering, TPS holders must reapply for Employment Authorization Documents, or EADs, to continue working legally in the United States until their TPS expires.

This report describes the acute need for the administration to extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Syria. Ongoing armed conflict as well as extraordinary and temporary conditions continue to make the safe return of Syrian nationals impossible. Syria is now in the seventh year of a catastrophic civil war that has shocked the world’s conscience and created the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Civilians in Syria suffer loss of infrastructure and widespread displacement. They are subjected to siege warfare and lack of access to food, water and medical aid.

Syria received an 18 month extension for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, from April 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
Current Syrian TPS holder EADs with an expiration date of March 31, 2018 are automatically extended for 180 days, through September 27, 2018.

On Dec. 4, CLINIC joined more than 130 other faith, non-profit, academic, and other organizations from across the country in a letter urging DHS and USCIS to immediately publish the official TPS notices for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti. DHS announced the TPS determinations for these countries in November, but TPS holders and employers require official publication of the decisions in order to comply. At the time of this letter, the Federal Register Notices were delayed by over 4 weeks for the Honduran and Nicaraguan decisions and two weeks delayed for Haiti’s decision.

CLINIC’s Executive Director Jeanne Atkinson joined the leaders of other major Catholic agencies that work to support immigrants and refugees have urged the head of the Department of Homeland Security to extend Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and El Salvador.

This quick guide will assist TPS holders in understanding DHS decisions on TPS, including terminations and indecisions. The guide also offers seven steps TPS holders can take to prepare and provides helpful links to resources.

Decisions in the Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal have opened the door for many individuals who entered the United States without inspection, but subsequently received Temporary Protected Status (TPS), to adjust to lawful permanent resident status. In the Sixth Circuit case, Flores v. USCIS, the court ruled that a grant of TPS satisfies the admission-related requirement of Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 718 F.3d 548 (6th Cir. 2013).

On Oct. 27, CLINIC joined 120 other faith, non-profit, academic and other organizations from across the country in a letter urging DHS to reconsider the recent termination of Temporary Protected Status for Sudan.

The administration is expected to rollout a series of announcements terminating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for up to 10 countries, affecting more than 300,000 individuals. The earliest announcement is expected on Nov. 6 for Hondurans (estimated at 57,000) and Nicaraguans (2,500), followed by a Nov. 23 decision date for Haitians (50,000). For Salvadorans (195,000), an announcement is expected by Jan. 8, 2018, at the latest. More announcements for additional nationalities with smaller populations of TPS holders, but equally of concern to CLINIC, are expected from January to July.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. and Church World Service delivered a letter Sept. 18 signed by nearly 700 American faith leaders and organizations calling on the administration to continue to use Temporary Protected Status as Congress intended. The law calls for TPS to protect foreign nationals in the United States whose lives would be at risk if they are forced to return to their countries too soon after catastrophes.

As a result of decisions from the 6th and 9th circuit courts, USCIS has issued new policy establishing that a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipient who resides in one of those jurisdictions is considered “inspected and admitted” for adjustment of status eligibility under INA Section 245(a).

The current six-month grant of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for approximately 50,000 Haitians will expire on Jan. 22, 2018 unless extended by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

In coalition with Nepali organizations based in the United States, including Adhikaar in New York, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) are a part of a nation-wide movement to support humanitarian efforts for Nepal. The massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shook Nepal has resulted in mass death and destruction. This devastation and tragedy has touched all of our hearts as the difficult relief efforts have begun.

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As it has for more than 30 years, CLINIC will fight for the rights of immigrants. CLINIC trains legal representatives who provide high-quality and affordable immigration legal services. We develop and sustain a network of nonprofit programs that serve close to 500,000 immigrants every year. We cultivate projects that support and defend vulnerable immigrant populations by:

providing direct representation for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border and educating them about their rights;

reuniting formerly separated families;

increasing legal representation for those in removal proceedings and in detention;

providing public education on immigration law and policies; and

advocating for fair and just immigration policies that acknowledge the inherent dignity and value of all people.

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About the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Embracing the Gospel value of welcoming the stranger, CLINIC promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants in partnership with a dedicated network of Catholic and community legal immigration programs. We are based out of Silver Spring, Maryland (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area), with an office in Oakland, California, and additional staff working from locations throughout the country. Questions and inquiries can be sent to national@cliniclegal.org.

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